Apparatus for guiding flexible tubular fabrics



Duc. 30,1952 2,623,264

APPARATUS FOR GUIDING FLEXIBLE; TUBULAR FABRICS Filed Feb. 13., 1950 J.DUNGLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

J. DUNGLER 2,623,264

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 30,1952

APPARATUS FOR GUIDING FLEXIBLE TUBULAR FABRICS Filed Feb. 11, 1950 Dec.30, 1952 J. DUNGLER 2,623,264

. APPARATUS FOR GUIDING FLEXIBLE TUBULAR FABRICS Filed Feb. 11, 1950 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Mil/0V AMI 6Z5? Patented Dec. 30,- 1952APPARATUS FOR GUmINGsnExmn-E TUBULAR FABRICS J ulien Dungler, BaselSwitzerland Application February 11, 1950, Serial Nd. 143,716 :InFranceNovember 18, .1949

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The present 'inyentiomrelates to an apparatus for guidingflexible-tubular fabrics and similar fibrous articles or objects.

In the apparatus :aocording to, mycopending application Serial No.-138;6 84,,filed; January 1 1950, the flexible or stretchable tubularfabric or article is in oontact'at its lateral folded ends with externalguide means .rotatably held at a fixed location and with internal ,guidemeans freely rotatable inside the tubular fabric, the apparatus furtherincluding means acting'upon the internal guide 1 means through thetubular article to hold the internal- .guide ,means in. a positionin'whicnthe latter cooperatesthrough the tubu lar articleflwith theexternalrguide means.

It has .been foundithat, in certain instances, the performance of suchanapparatus can be further improved and-extended tofurther utilization,particularly where theaapparatus is used for the enlargement of tubulararticles inxa'direction transverse torthelongitudinal axis thereof.

It has further been found that undesirable wrinkles or creases sometimesoccur :along the diverging edges of the tubular article" between thepoint or location wherethe'ai'ticle leaves the 1 guiding apparatusandrthe point of positive entrainment by"asucceedingtreading-"or"pick-up device. H

It is, therefore; arrobjectbf the-:present'i'nvention to provide means:ensuringzavoi'dancerof the heretofore mentioned :draiwbacksrin:guidingapparatus .for tubular textile articles.-

Another obj ect' of this invention is to provide means facilitating 5a;considerable simplification of the apparatus by holdingrinaplace theexternal guide means without ":the need of "separate retaining meanstherefor; V

A further object of z the .invention ,is to ,pro-

vide means keepin the; tubularzarticle in-shape p r-s ay ofthetubulararticle,thereby, enamly locking the inner. member between thetubular article and the outer member.

According to another feature oi the invention, the apparatus also 1includes supporting means positioned externally of the tubular articleto pr v de a estiom e inner-mee a r of h inner member, positionedremotest from the outermember. H V H W :7

T e e nal u p t nameans rr d o ay include, according to a I iurther Afeature of the invention, an outer roller cooperating with an innerroller which in turn is associated with the internal guide means, thetubular, article in passingbetween the rollers causing them to rotate soAccordin to still another feature of the invention internal supportingmeans are contemplated to; which the inner roller may be attached, theinternal supporting means having preferably securedthereto rotatableinner membersg spaced in longitudinal,.directionof the tubular article,the nternalsup ortinam nsbei e a apte to guide the tubular artie sub taniall be ond its point of contact with thelastone qf the rotatable innermembers, .Each inner member may in this case consist, of, two rotary,elements disposed on opposite sides of the. internal supporting meansand having a common pivot secured thereto.

Accordingto a further feature of theinvention, slitting means arepreferably providedon the internalguide meanafl, 01 the internalsupporting means forming :part thereof.

, he above andother objects, features and advantages will become,apparent from the following descriptionreference beinghadto theaccompanying drawingsin which: N

.Fig. 1 ;isafront elevation, partly in section, oi an apparatusembodying one form of the inventionn Fig. 2, is-a section takenalonglineZ-Jpt 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similarto 2 taken on the line 3 -3; of Fig. 4, showinganother embodiment of theinvention; V g m Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to-one half of Fig. 1 b tish n i t a aratusmo fiedr Fig. 5 isg a-top planview of the apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and fi; and l Fi .6, is a se t npm large s a e thr u h an inner rotatable member used according to Figs.3-5. 1 7

Referring ncw more particularly to th draw-- ings, there is disclosed inFigs. 1 and 2 a pair of carriages 2, 2' mounted on a common guide rail(not shown) for relative displacement in a direction transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the tubular article to be treated, thereby allowingadjustment of the apparatus to articles of different width. The twocarriages 2, 2' support identica1 assemblies arranged symmetrically toeach other, of which only the one supported by the carriage 2 will bemore fully described.

Extending upwardly from the carriage 2 is an elbow-shaped member 3|carrying the shafts 32 and 33, respectively, of two rollers I3 and I9.These rollers are preferably provided with a peripheral cover or stripof elastic material, such as indicated at Ifia for the roller I8. Theshaft 32 of the roller I8 is fixed upon the elbow member 3| while theshaft 33 of roller I9 is slidable in the direction of arrows 31a, 31b ina slot 34 provided in member 3|. The shaft 33 may be affixed in aselected adjusted position by means of a handle 35 which is screwed uponthe threaded outer end of this shaft 33; tightening of the handle 35causes a should-er 36 to bear upon the underside of the portion providedwith slot 34. The dis- The left-hand fold line, as viewed in Fig. 1, is

formed by a portion of the fabric which passes between the rollers I8,I9 and a freely movable and floating hollow inner ring member 6,preferably provided with a slit to to increase its resiliency;analogously, the right-hand fold line is formed bya portion of thefabric which passes between the roller I8, I9 and a similar hollow innerring member 6'. I 7

It will be noted that, in contradistinction to the apparatus disclosedin the above-identified application, the ring 6 engaging the fold lineof the fabric is held against outward displacement by the fabric itselfand is held against inwarddisplacement by the rollers I3 and IS, withoutthe need of any additional retaining means.

The innermost portion of the floating ring member 6, opposite to the onecooperating with the rollers I8 and I9, rests on a table M which issupported by an arm 43 integral with the carriage 2.

The arrangement just described is used in the following manner: Therings 6, 6 are inserted into the tubular fabric. The handles 35, 35 ofthe two roller adjustment devices are loosened, and the rollers I9, I9are displaced in the direction of arrow 311; into an extreme position inwhich they are temporarily retained upon tighteningof the handles.Thereupon, the tubular fabric 3 is put into place so that the rings 6,6' occupy the position shown in the drawings.

The handles are then again loosened and the rollers I9, I9 placed in theposition as illustrated, by displacing them according to arrow 31b andin abutment with stops 38, 38', so as to cause said rollers to cooperatewith the fixed rollers I8, I23 at the inner peripheral portions of therings 6, 6', thereby maintaining the rings 6, 6' in place and insuringthe proper guidance of the tubular fabric 9 between the rollers I6, I3and I9, I9 on the one hand and the rings 6, 6' on the other hand.

The modification shown in Figs. 3-6 is particu- 4 lar-1y applicable toelastic tubular textile objects or articles which are to be guided overa considerable length of their path, as, for example, up to a locationin immediate proximity of a feeding or pick-up device.

In this form of the invention each of the removable internal guidemeans, respectively, located at the two fold lines of thetubular fabricor article 9, comprises two coupled; freely and loosely rotatablemembers 43, 44 spaced apart with respect to the longitudinal directionof the fabric, these members being journaled upon a common support 45.In order to prevent the fabric 9 from making contact with the support45, each of the rotatable members 43, 44 is subdivided into two parts orelements disposed symmetrically with respect to the support 45,respectively above and below the latter, as best seen in Fig. 6illustrating in greater detail member 44. This member consists of twohalves 44a, 44b positioned on opposite sides of the support 45 whichlatter, as shown, is preferably in the form of an elongated, thin plateprovided with cutouts to reduce its weight. The elements 44a, 44b arerotatably supported on the plate support 45 by means of ball bearing 39lodged in a circular cutout 4B of the plate support.

Each of these elements is provided with a hub, 44c and 44d,respectively, from which arm-s or spokes extend toward its periphery asindicated at 44c (Fig. 5) for the upper member'half 44a, thus affordingthe necessary mechanical connection and unity. The two halves are heldtogether by a threaded stud 54 and a pair of nuts 53.

The elements of ring 43 corresponding to the parts Mar-44c of ring '44have been indicated at 43a.-43e, respectively.

The rotatable inner ring members 43 and 44 are adapted to cooperate withthe outer rollers I8a, I9a and I31), I322, respectively, in mannersimilar to rollers I8, I9 and ring 6 (Figs. 1 and 2); rollers I9a, I9bbeing adjustably mounted'as already described withres-pect to roller I9.

The two pairs of outer rollers I8a, Ida and I82), I92), respectively,associated with the ring members 43 and 44, mountedon their commonsupport 45, are carried upon a base-42 fixed to the carriage 2 which istransversely slidable in the manner mentioned above. The base 42isfurthermore provided with vertical lugs 41 inwhich is journailed ahori'zontalshaft '48 carrying an idler roller 49, the latter beingadapted to cooperate with a roller 50' freely rotatable upon a shaft 5|which is rigid with the support 45. As explained with respect to theformer embodiment,there will be a separate guiding assembly (such asshown in Figs. 3-6) comprising each a pair of-rotary mem bers 43, 44,freely movable inside the tubular fabric article with their support 45,and two pairs of outer rollers-mounted on the'stationary base 42 forengagement with thefold-lines of the tubular fabric 9.

The plate45 supporting the ring members 43,

'44 is provided with an extension 52 designed to placement of the-upperrollers 19a and I922 into their extreme positions, is placed in. posmtnillustrated in Fig. 4, whereupon the upper rollers are brought intoengagement therewith as previously described. These rollers are retainedin this position by suitably manipulating the handles 35a, 351), asisself-evident fromFig. 4

If a feeding movement is imparted to the article 9 by, say, a set ofdraw rollers (not shown) provided in the device 51, the article isenlarged to an extent determined by the position of the carriages 2 upontheir guide rail. The article 9 by its movement causes the ring members43 and M as well as the rollers [8a, [911 and I81), I96 tor'otate and toreduce friction with the fabric-to a minimum, inward displacement of thering members being again prevented by the outer rollers whereas outwarddisplacement thereof is prevented by the articleil. H e s s s The lowerportion of the tubular ai ticle 9 passes between the idler rollers Mi,50 which are set in rotary motion thereby, thus avoiding slipping off orglidingmovement of the fabric articlebetween these idler rollers; theplate support 45 carrying the rings 43, 44 rests upon the roller 49through the intermediary of roller 50, as explained hereinabove. s

It is to be noted that the guide extension 52 positively maintains thespread of the fabric throughout substantially the entire zone extendingbetween the second ring member 43 and the pick-up device 51, therebypreventing the formation of any wrinkles or creases as the article 9passes from the guiding apparatus to the pick-up device.

The arrangements described-may be utilized for a number of purposes.Thus; they may be embodied in an apparatus for simply guiding a fabricor other tubular piece of material along a predetermined path, forexample across a drying rack. In this case, a number of devices of .thecharacter described may be positioned in alignment with one another,along each of the two fold lines, throughout the path traversed by thematerial.

The invention, particularly in the form described in Figs. 3 to 6, mayfurther be utilized in apparatus for enlarging a tubular fabric or othermaterial to a predetermined width. In this case, the common support 45with its ring members 43, M may be disposed at an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the travel of the tubular article treated.

The apparatus described may also be utilized to sever the tubular fabricalong one or more of its fold lines. Suitable cutting means may for thispurpose be provided on the internal guide means; thus the guidingextension 52 may removably carry, for example, a cutting edge 56 asindicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 5. A similar effect may be obtainedby equipping, for example, the ring 6 of Figs. 1 and 2 with a peripheralsharp cutting edge (not shown).

It should be understood that the embodiments of the invention describedabove and shown on the drawings have been given merely by way ofillustration and not of limitation, and that the arrangement, nature,form and connection of the different instrumentalities may be modifiedin various ways without exceeding the scope of the invention. Thus, thering members 43 and 44 may be interconnected by a steel belt or otherlinkages for the purpose of insuring uniform traction and guidance atboth of these members. Also, it will be possible to provide a largernumber of assemblies (such as shown in Figs. 3-5) e. g. threeassemblies, disposed in planes extending at, say, 120 degrees to oneanother, so as to provide three end fold lines formed on 'a tubulararticle of triangular cross section. Cutting meanssuch as 56, may thenbe used to divide and out the fabric artioleor other textile material inthree or more portions of equal or different width or dimensions;Furthermore, the ring members 43 and 44 may have different diameters,and the guide extension 52 may be provided with roller means tosubstitute rolling engagement for sliding engagement. 7

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Let'- ters Patent,is:' s

1. In a guide apparatus for flexible tubular textile articles, incombination, a support, a lower and an upper roller mountedon said support, adjusting means for varying the separation of said rollers and forfixing said rollers in a relatively inclined position, a ring memberadapted for horizontal position with its inner periphery in engagementwith both said rollers when the latter are in said relatively inclinedposition, and an extension on said support forming a rest for a portionof said ring member when engaged by said rollers.

2. In an apparatus for guiding a flexible tubular fabric article, incombination, a support, a pair of rollers mountedon said support,adjusting means for varying the separation of said rollers and forfixing said rollers in a relatively inclined position, a plateindependent of said support, and a ring member journalled upon saidplate, said ring member comprising two annular elements positioned onopposite sides of said plate and being adapted for position with theinner peripheries of said annularelements, respectively, in engagementwith said rollers when the latter are in said relatively inclinedposition.

3. In an apparatusfor guiding a flexible tubular article, incombination, a support, pairs of rollers mounted on said support,adjusting means for varying the separation of the rollers of each ofsaid pairs and for fixing the rollers of each pair in a relativelyinclined position, a plate independent of said support, and a pluralityof ring members journalled upon said plate, said ring members beingpositionable with their inner peripheries in engagement with the rollersof respective pairs when the latter are in said relatively inclinedposition.

4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein said plate is providedwith an extension forming guide means substantially aligned with theperipheries of said ring members and extending beyond an outermost oneof said ring members.

5. The combination according to claim 3, wherein said support isprovided with an extension forming a rest for a portion of said plate.

6. The combination according to claim 5, wherein said portion isprovided with a rotatably supported first roller, and said extension isprovided with a rotatably supported second roller positioned tocooperate with said first roller.

7. The combination according to claim 3, wherein each of said ringmembers comprises a pair of annular elements being engaged by arespective roller of the associated pair of rollers.

8. A guide apparatus for tubular textile articles comprising internalguide means each having an inner peripheral portion and arranged forlocation inside said tubular article and adapted to loosely andfioatingly engage the latter, and external guide means positioned tobear through said tubular article against and to coact with saidinternal guide means at said inner peripheral portions, to thereby guidesaid internal guide means from therewithin toward said tubular articleand to thus effectively maintain said tubular article in positionbetween said internal guide means and said external guide means.

9. A guide apparatus for moving tubular textile articles comprisinginternal guide ring means arranged for location inside said tubulararticle and adapted to loosely rotate therein, said internal guide meansbeing each provided with an inner peripheral portion and movablesubstantially in the same plane in which said tubular article moves, andexternal guide means positioned to engage through said tubular articlesaid internal guide means at said inner peripheral portions and toretain said internal guide means against said tubular article, thuseflectively maintaining said tubular article in position remote fromsaid external guide means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, comprising a stationary supportfixedly mounted externally of said tubular article, said internal guidemeans being substantially horizontally disposed with a portion thereofand remote from said external guide means, resting upon said supportwhen said internal guide means is engaged by said external guide means.

11. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said internal guide meansis provided with a cutting edge positioned to penetrate said tubulararticle when the latter is engaged by said internal and said externalguide means.

'12. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said internal guidemeans is provided with a guide extension having an edge extendingsubstantially tangentially of said internal guide means.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said extension isprovided with a cutting edge projecting outwardly from said tendingedge.

14. An apparatus according'to'claim 9; comprising a stationary supportfixedly mounted relative. to said external guide means and externally ofsaid tubular article, said internal guide means including a supportingelement provided with a portion resting upon said support when saidinternal guide means is engaged by said external guide means.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14', wherein said portion comprisesa horizontal shaft, and a first roller rotatable on said shaft andengageable with said support.

16. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said support comprises asecond roller positioned to cooperate with said first roller.

17. In a guide apparatus for flexible tubular textile articles, incombination, a support, a lower roller and an upper roller mounted onsaid support, and a ring member arranged for location within saidtubular article and loosely rotatable therein, said lower and upperrollers being positioned for engagement with the inner periphery of saidring member, to thereby guide said tubular article past said ringmember.

18. In a guide apparatus according to claim 17, including a guideextension associated with said ring member and tangentially extendingtherebeyond.

tangentially. x

J ULIEN DUNGLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 769,648 Gove Sept. 6,1904 2,391,547 Cohn et a1 Dec. 25, 1945 2,415,185 Moon Feb. 4, 1947

